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Posted: 2/21/2006 5:28:34 PM EDT
Anybody have any info on making kydex holsters?

I've got a Taurus 605 that I've been carrying in a Desantis "Nemesis" pocket holsters. It works ok, I guess...but I feel like I've got a pair of socks in my front pocket. I found a place that sells kydex pocket holsters for various tiny autos and J-frame Smiths, but not for my poor little 605.

www.grandfatheroak.com/Stockdesigns.html

They sell theirs for $15-$18 shipped, so there can't be a whole lot of work involved. I've already ordered some .062" kydex, kydex rivets, and a rivet setting tool from a knife-making site. Now I just need to figure out what I need to do with it...

Suggestions?
Link Posted: 2/24/2006 12:02:53 PM EDT
[#1]
Wow, not a single response...

Link Posted: 2/24/2006 7:11:59 PM EDT
[#2]
First, find some good pictures, preferably from several different angles, of a holster similar to what you would like. Use some felt or other thick cloth and try to make a similar holster out of the felt. Felt is cheap and easy to cut and experiment with. Generally, I have found that the best kydex holsters are the simple designs that use the fewest pieces. After you get something close with the felt, trace the onto some thin cardboard. A piece from the side of a cereal box will work. Trace the cardboard patterns on the kydex with a silver or white paint pen. Cut out the kydex pieces. Get a heat gun and experiment with molding the kydex around the weapon. Start with the heat setting on low. Good luck.

ETA: The pocket holsters in your link look like they would print pretty bad.
Link Posted: 2/26/2006 10:20:26 PM EDT
[#3]
My Baby Eagle Homebrewed Holster Thread

It's so easy to use it's addicting!

I made a few small kydex items to practice with first.

The belt loop on the holster was made by bending the kydes hot over the 'perfect size' piece of wood I had lying around the garage.

I heated the stuff up in our oven on the lowest setting... about 200 I think?

I tried to use florist foam to help mold the kydex around the gun, but that didn't work.
The foam made a near perfect negative of my handgun, but when I used that mold to help shape the kydex I found out the foam was pretty weak stuff.
I've seen posts on the internet where folks have used dense blue foam from camping mats, for the material molding the kydex to the gun.

Just get you some kydex and cut off a small piece to play with.  You can even use a heat-gun to soften the stuff up for molding.

I remolded a Cen-Dex kydex holster I had made for my Glock 30.  It was an IWB, but it never fit well for me.
I created 'wings' that placed the belt loops farther out from the gun, like on some other models of leather and kydex holsters.
It was real easy.  I used screws to fasten it. (I suppose, technically I should have said 'nuts and bolts' )
Link Posted: 2/26/2006 10:36:18 PM EDT
[#4]
I was just thinking about things...

You could just mold one piece of kydex to create the half of a holster that will provide holding pressure for the gun, while the other half could be leather.
Perhaps the leather could be the 'outside' that the public sees showing from your pocket.

Mold the kydex to the correct side of the gun it will mate to in your pocket.
Make a paper pattern for the leather piece and size it so it's tight enough to just allow the gun to be holstered.
You'll need to figure that part out so the gun is snug but easy enough to draw when needed.

Once you've got your two pieces (leather and kydex) cut, you want to put them together.
To stitch the two together, you just figure out the size of holes you need for the stitching/thread, use a dremel or some other drill and drill your holes in the kydex first.
Use the drilled kydex as a pattern through which an awl/nail/needle can be passed to make your stitch marks on the leather.
Open the holes in the leather just big enough to push your needle through without the thread being loose.

I used waxed thread.  I've had my spools for many years now from the days I did more leather stitching.
You could use Dacron fishing line, Kevlar thread, anything with some strength.

If you look close enough at my first picture, you'll see the belt loop is stitched closed this way, although it is one piece of kydex.

Another idea might be to make a simple pocket like an Uncle Mike's pocket www.gunaccessories.com/UncleMikes/InsideThePocketHolsters.asp. I have one for my S&W 642.

Before you stitch up the material, maybe you could create a kydex band that would help with providing a snugger fit if you wish.
You just give it some molding to fit the gun and stitch the kydex to the material.

I found out that when shaping kydex around the trigger guard, I had to keep from pressing too much material into the trigger space.
I saw that too much material in the wrong place might 'grab' the trigger when reholstering and fire off a round at a most inappropriate time!
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 4:54:52 AM EDT
[#5]
Well, I don't know if you just want to look at some examples. or actually order one, but check out the kydex offerings at fist-inc.  I just ordered a IWB adjustable cant, tuckable holster and matching magazine pouch last week.

As for your model, they support it directly and many other taurus models:
Complete listhere
TAURUS RAGING BULL
TAURUS TRACKER
TAURUS 24/7
TAURUS 44
TAURUS 85
TAURUS 445
TAURUS 605
TAURUS 606
TAURUS 608
TAURUS 617
TAURUS 731
TAURUS 850
TAURUS 941
TAURUS M627
TAURUS M720
TAURUS PT111
TAURUS PT138
TAURUS PT140
TAURUS PT145
TAURUS PT908
TAURUS PT911
TAURUS PT940
TAURUS PT945

So, any model holster they have, they can make for your gun.

No Expert
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 12:43:38 PM EDT
[#6]
Thanks for the responses guys. My kydex arrived this morning and I've been playing with it a bit using the wife's hair dryer and our oven. She's gonna kick my butt when she gets home.

This is what I've come up with so far:

back


front


I want something fairly smooth on the front to minimize printing, formed to the gun on the back side for retention, and curved to match the shape of my leg and pockets.

I've still got a ways to go, but I can make 6 holsters this size from the three 12" x 12" sheets I bought so I'm sure I'll get it figured out eventually.
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 5:30:04 PM EDT
[#7]
Ok, been playing a bit more, this time with the cut-off tool and a sander. The overall shape is really close to what I'm looking for but the rivets and rivet setter I ordered are crap. I wound up having to shoot an aircraft rivet on the outer hole, which screwed up the whole thing.

Oh well, I can do this 5 more times...






It's extremely comfortable, and just disappears in the pocket of my jeans. It's just too damn ugly to call it finished. I think I may use contact cement or something to seal the holster instead of rivets next time.

The next one will be much nicer...or maybe the one after that...
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 5:53:45 PM EDT
[#8]
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 8:05:02 PM EDT
[#9]
it looks like you are off to a good start?  This is going to be for a "front pocket" carry? Are you going to line the outside with something to help it grip in the pocket so the holster doesn't come out with the gun?

No Expert
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 1:28:19 AM EDT
[#10]
Ys, it's for front pocket carry. Right now I can draw and the holster stays in the pocket, but I may relax the tension a bit on the next one and extend the "peak" in the hammer area to make sure it stays where it's supposed to.  I'd rather not add anything to the outside of the holster. I just want a smooth front panel, which is another reason not to use rivets next time.
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 4:12:09 AM EDT
[#11]
Well, it does look like a good start.... what about adding something to the back side that was grippy?  Just throwing ideas out, I don't do pocket carry, but I just picture the holster coming out with the gun in an emergency.

Looking forward to your finished project.

No Expert

Link Posted: 3/1/2006 10:12:35 AM EDT
[#12]
That looks really good!
For pocket retention, all you would need is to use some rubber cement and some of that sticky rubber shelf liner.
It's thin enough that if you cement a piece that matches the outline of your holster, it won't make the gun print anymore than the holster it's already in.
You can also find fabric with the little rubber bumps (like on a child's sleep outfit with the feet) at the fabric stores.

I see a lot more hardware stores are putting up those bins with all the misc. specialty hardware.  If a store near you has these, you can often find copper rivets (used in leather making) or those lightweight aluminum screws that have a corresponding threaded half (I have no idea what they're called). The threaded half is a shaft with a flat head on one end.
I ground down the screw and threaded shaft until I had the length I needed for my baby eagle holster.  A little locktite and it keeps the kydex together really well.

I found a website that has these fasteners as well as others
www.eleathersupply.com/fasteners.shtml
I was trying to describe what they call 'chicago screws'.
Link Posted: 3/4/2006 9:26:24 AM EDT
[#13]
www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_kydexsheath2.htm

Same thing more or less for a gun I imagine?
Link Posted: 3/4/2006 10:06:00 AM EDT
[#14]
Been doinit for a couple of years now and it does become compulsive.I gotta start chargin my buddies so i can at least cover the cost of supplies.For me finding Kydex was the hard part.I like my IWB for my g22 cause i got fenders(lovehandles)and i do mine with a pinch guard.As far as saving money,no way.Uncle mikes and a few others out there are dirt CHEAP.
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